Topping conifers

Discussion in 'Garden Design and Plant Suggestions' started by thegreenman, Sep 3, 2009.

  1. thegreenman

    thegreenman Member

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    Hi folks,

    I have been asked to cut down my friends conifer from a height of 20 feet to 5 feet a process I believe referred to as topping. I know this process can cause the tree's stress and lead to infection/death. i have advised them of this but is there anything i can do to treat the main trunk to prevent this?

    cheers,

    the g man
     
  2. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    No! If it is too large, better to remove it completely and plant something else smaller in its place.
     
  3. thegreenman

    thegreenman Member

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    what would you suggest i plant?

    They are after just a hedge that requires little maintenance and can offer privacy growing to at least 5 or 6 feet

    Cheers.
     
  4. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Any of holly, yew, box, privet, beech, hornbeam. All of these can be kept neatly trimmed.
     
  5. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    A common occurrence is desire for a short dense hedge in a short period of time. The latter interest results in the planting of Leyland and other quick hedges that soon grow much taller than wanted. The general pattern is for short dense hedges like box or Japanese holly to be quite slow, and quick hedges to be more open and tall. An exception is bamboos, it is possible to select kinds that will mature on a given site within a desired height range and remain there indefinitely - them not being true woody shrubs that grow ever taller over time but rather creeping grasses that sprout new stems from the ground level. These grow to their full height the first season.

    In Scotland it might be possible to grow a nice Fargesia bamboo hedge in full light. Otherwise most of the finer textured, lovelier species in this genus are shade plants. F. robusta and a few others will grow in full sun but produce larger leaves. All are dense clumpers with short rootstocks that never pop up unexpectedly, some distance away from the parent plant.
     
  6. thegreenman

    thegreenman Member

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    Hi,

    i checked out leylandii and seen that i can buy these in different sizes relatively cheaply. It recommends trim them 1-2 times a year as they can grow 2-3 foot per year. These look some thing similar to what i will be removing and will provide the desired hedge they want.

    thanks again,

    the g man
     
  7. kaspian

    kaspian Active Member 10 Years

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    As Ron noted, x leylandii will provide a quick (and cheap) short-term solution, but won't do so well over the long term. I've never seen a row of Leyland cypress constricted into a short, compact hedge, but I can imagine that all the hard pruning involved -- imagine trying to restrain a vigorous tree that wants to grow 2-3 feet per year! -- will create a stumpy, woody thing with sparse foliage after not too many years.
     
  8. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Makes an excellent sheared hedge or specimen if pruning starts early enough in life of tree. Problem with using a fast-growing kind like Leyland for this is it will very soon burst well out of the pruned outline should regular shearing routine be interrupted or discontinued.
     
  9. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Here's what happens when a Leyland Cypress hedge is allowed to grow too much and then cut back too hard . . . this was done a year ago, and it won't ever be green again on top. A hideous eyesore.
     

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  10. thegreenman

    thegreenman Member

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    As you can probably guess ive got a lot to learn about trees. I noticed you said the leylandii was fast growing what alternative would you recommend then?

    i dont want to remove the origanal problem only to replace it with the same type of problem. My thinking was that i could plant these leylandii trees and aslong as they were pruned every april/may they would be fine?
     
  11. maf

    maf Generous Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Leylandii would need pruning twice a year at the very least to keep them under control and looking green. Anything less and you would end up with the same problem as you are facing now, either too big or ugly brown.

    Yew makes the nicest evergreen hedge, and only requires cutting once a year, but will take longer to become established than leylandii.
     
  12. M. D. Vaden

    M. D. Vaden Active Member 10 Years

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    That's a remarkable percentage to need to cut back. Sometimes arborvitae get reduced heavily near here, but even 1/2 off that type of plant is pretty harsh.

    Yew mentioned is one of my favorites.

    I had a chuckle reading the Leyland comments above. A few years ago, I wrote a bit about them called something like "Money Grows on Trees" referring to how they make so much money for tree services, or nurseries.

    My mother's previous neighbor had one that she knew the age of more or less. She planted it 21 years prior to me removing some lower limbs. The width of the canopy was 45 feet. We measured twice to be sure. Even if that tree is sheared, it grows to fast for practical maintenance.

    If someone is a pruning "whiz" some types of pine can be kept small with hand pruner cuts. But it would require diligence.
     
  13. woodschmoe

    woodschmoe Active Member 10 Years

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    Pedantic quibble with the last sentence: can't think of a bamboo that will attain it's maximum height the first season, it'll take (in most cases in temperate climes) a few years. Certain you merely meant that each new culm will attain the greatest possible height, given the age of the clump, in a single season, but worth clarifying for interested readers that aren't familiar with bamboo. There is a persistent impression that one can expect maximum listed heights for species within a year or two of planting. It takes time, though good mulching and ample irrigation when shooting/during dry spells will speed things up.
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2009

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